Saturday, 26 October 2013

Screenshot Saturday!

Seems like Saturday updates are becoming a bit of a scheduled habit! In the Indie gaming circles we have what we call a Screenshot Saturday, well in this case here's more than one...

This week we now have dungeon entrances:

And exits!

Ambient Lighting Schemes

I've also been working on different lighting schemes for a variety of environments that I have planned for the game (prison/dungeon, fiery hell, organic forest area, pitch black caverns). These environments will all be using different models and textures, but just changing the lighting makes a huge difference to the feel of it all. None of the following are photoshopped, these are all rendered by the engine.

Starting from the top-left:

1. For the prison area, we're using neutral ambient lighting. Wood looks like wood. The stone walls and floors are cold and grey, and the only respite is from the warm glow of the fire pit.

2. Our cavern levels will be pretty dark, so the only way to navigate through these is with a torch, or by following luminous crystals and glow-in-the-dark creatures. So for this environment, we use no ambient lighting at all.

3. Our fiery hell levels will be constantly lit by the red glow of flowing lava. The air is hot and dry, walls are scalding to the touch, and there is lava, fire and smoke everywhere. I wanted it to feel like we were inside a volcano, so the ambient light here is a highly saturated red.

4. Finally our organic forest level will have vines, ivy, moss, underground trees and waterfalls tearing apart the dungeon walls as nature reclaims its territory. I wanted to go for a Zelda-esque feel with floating spores, falling leaves and lots of sun shafts/god rays coming through the tree canopy. The ambient light has a green tinge to it, as the sun light filters through the green leaves.

You can see what I mean about the forest lighting from these reference images here and here

For now you'll need to use your imagination as to what the actual environment models and textures will look like, but for this exercise I was just focusing purely on the lighting!

Torture Chamber

I had some extra time this week to add my first furnished room, a torture chamber complete with hanging gibbet cages and dead skeletons....

And X-shaped stocks inspired by Theon Greyjoy's experience with the Boltons...

All objects are physics enabled, so if you push hard enough... (Whoops!)

Camera Zoom

If you remember our AI demos from back in the Kickstarter days, the action is intended to be quite fast paced, with a certain sort of flow to it. There will be no standing around exchanging blows, you will be constantly on the move dodging, avoiding, strafing and slicing. Using your peripheral vision will be very important, so at any time you'll be able to zoom out and get a clearer view of the surrounding area.

For the Technically Inclined...

In addition to these updates, I've also been writing about TinyKeep from a programmer's perspective on the hugely popular TIGSource forums. I know some of you here are in the game development biz, so if you're interested in the process our thread is here:

2 comments:

I have just discovered your blog and I like the way you compare different modes and blogs the process of thought. It's really useful for me to refer students who would like to gain more insight in to professional game making.

What is TinyKeep?

In TinyKeep players will embrace the role of a hopeless prisoner held deep in a forgotten dungeon who one day wakes up to find themselves mysteriously released. Their savior is nowhere to be seen, but the cell door is broken and ajar, tempting them with the sweet scent of freedom. With nothing but a flickering lantern and a strange letter left behind by their in-mate, they must venture into the darkness and escape TinyKeep!

About Me

Phi is a Software Developer currently employed by a leading digital agency in the UK. For the past few years he has been trying his utmost hardest to break into the Games Industry. TinyKeep is his first story...